Thomas Downey High School

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Thomas Downey High School is a High School in Modesto, California. It is one of the six high schools in Modesto. George Lucas, Tony Graziani, Laci Peterson and Olympian and American Discus Record Holder Suzy Powell, are some of its notable graduates.

One of the six high schools in Modesto, California, Thomas Downey High is the second oldest in the city. Its mascot is the Knight, however they are commonly referred to as the "Downey Ducks." When the school was first built, it was among orchards like most of Modesto was. When the football team practiced, ducks would be present during floods in the orchards, hence the informal name, "The Downey Ducks."

The movie American Graffiti, written and directed by Downey graduate George Lucas, is based in Modesto, Ca but filmed in Petaluma, Ca. The school that students in the film attend is called "Dewey High", which is actually Petaluma High, the architecutral twin to Downey High. "Dewey High" is a likely reference to Downey.

Downey's yearbook and newspaper have also received awards, with yearbook adviser John Scott being one of the three finalists for the Stanislaus County Teacher of the Year award in 2007.

The Agriculture Department at Thomas Downey was first created to work the school's early orchards. The orchards have been since cut down, with The Ag. Department serving as the main welding area for the students of TDHS. Proficent students in welding go on to competitions for the "Future Farmers of America (FFA)." If students win competitions, they have a chance to be recognized by superiors in the welding industry. Companies include West-Mark, Catapillar, and others. Students also raise animals for the Stanislaus County Fair, hopefully gaining a profit. The projects range from 3-7 months and include focuses on gardening, animals, and home improvement. Students also have the opportunity to take a floral design class in which students design and sell arrangements.

The school has designated dress up days during fall and winter homecoming weeks, Unity Week, and Red Ribbon week. A large rally is usually thrown at the beginning of each year for fall homecoming, where dance performances are given and homecoming court nominees play games meant to be somewhat embarrassing, but all in good fun for the spirit of Homecoming Week.

One year (2007) during the fall homecoming rally, a majority of the staff performed the soulja boy dance. That video can be found on youtube.com.

On April 4th 2008, Downey held its first annual "Night of the Knights" competition. Considered a man pageant, 15 male students from Downey (two as one contestant) competed for the prestigious Mr. Knight award. Said to be Downey's finest production yet, the "Night of the Knights" featured talent portions from break dancing to comedy impressions. Senior George Ferris edged out Conner McCabe for first place in the competition, while Ryan Kohen and Kevin Bertilero(as a pair) came in third. Michael Fletcher received the "Audience Choice Award".

2008 The Thomas Downey High boys varsity basketball team was crowned 2008 MMC (Modesto Metro Conference) Champions by beating their cross town rival Modesto High and had an inner league record of 13-2. The basketball team won their first playff game beating the Los Banos Tigers. The Knights then went on to face the Folsom High Bulldogs at the University of the Pacific and lost 68-56.

On Saturday, February 23, 2008, the Downey Science Bowl Blue Team won the Central Valley Regional Science Bowl Competition. They defeated the other 23 teams from the area. The victory ends Tokay H.S. 2 year reign that was preceded by Johansen's 5 year streak that ended Downey's reign. The Downey Blue Team consisted of Seniors Calvin Goreal, Alex Bonte, and Dani Hicks, and Juniors Kevin Sutherland and Randall Robinson, the team's coach is Dan Harris, Physics teacher at Downey. The Knights Defeated Johansen High School in the Championship round with a score of 64-22, largely considered a blowout. The victory earns the team an all-expense paid trip to Washington D.C. from May 1-6 from the Department of Energy and Texas Instruments. The trip will include a tour of Congress and the National Science Bowl Competition. The team will not have Alex Bonte on the squad at National's due to the fact that he holds the lead role in the school's musical, his fill-in will be Randall Robinson.

The school's musical production for the 2007-2008 year is Les Miserables. Dates of the musical are April 25, 26 and May 2, 3, 4. Cast members include: Alex Bonte - Jean Valjean, Ethan Kerntke - Javert, Rachel Wade - Eponine, Frankie Hayward - Cosette, Liza Wallace - Young Cosette, Josh Aguilera - Marius, Chris DeLeon - Enjolras, Whitney Guenther - Fantine